Founder Xstine Cook Location Calgary | Focus Art Website www.animatedobjects.ca | |
Founded 2003
Calgary, Alberta, Canada Type Non-governmental organization | ||
Calgary Animated Objects Society (CAOS) is a non-profit charitable arts organization based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 2003, CAOS is dedicated to the arts of mask, puppetry and animated objects, and to building community through art. CAOS's major projects include the biennial International Festival of Animated Objects, and "Spirit of White Buffalo" a giant animated puppet and arts residency.
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Origins and Goals
CAOS provides artistic opportunities through its activities, and initiates youth and community activities such as Young Spirit Voices, an aboriginal youth drama project, the Ramsay "Halloween Scream" and "The Great Ramsay Kinetic Sculpture Race".
CAOS is led by founder Xstine Cook, a mask and puppet artist, who also makes short films, plays the saw, performs spoken word, and is a fire artist. Xstine co-founded and was co-artistic director of Green Fools Theatre for 13 years prior to founding CAOS. Xstine trained at the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, California.
CAOS and the festival propel a very active local mask and puppetry tradition into an international arena, all the while bringing international attention to the city of Calgary. Extensive coverage for the organization can be found in FFWD magazine-Calgary's weekly arts & culture publication: "Calgary is a hotbed of original, unorthodox puppet work" (quote from an article written to cover CAOS's festival).
Media Coverage and Recognition
The organizations' activities can be read about in various media: CBC Radio, CKUA Radio, CTV, and CityTV, CJSW Radio, The Calgary Herald, Legacy Magazine, This Magazine, The Gauntlet, Metro News, BeatRoute Magazine and numerous community-level publications.
Calgary Animated Objects Society has received national coverage for its activities consistently since 2005. The Globe and Mail, one of Canada's most respected national daily newspapers accredited CAOS with putting "Calgary in the pop-culture vanguard" in recognition of the International Festival of Animated Objects' programming, the same Globe & Mail article also drew attention to how "Calgary...has become one of the most fertile spots in North America for ground-breaking puppetry".
CAOS was recently awarded the "Innovative Business Practices Award" from the Rozsa Foundation for Arts Management, a prestigious honour from Calgary's business community.
Spirit Of White Buffalo
CAOS also produces original art works, such as Spirit of White Buffalo. Guided by artist Xstine Cook, this giant kinetic sculpture was built by incarcerated men in Drumheller Institution, in collaboration with local artists, Jeff De Boer, and youth. "Spirit of White Buffalo" appeared at the 2007 Calgary Stampede Parade, and was awarded first place in "Best Western Theme".
Born in jail, now free to roam the earth, Spirit of White Buffalo is a 12 foot tall human powered kinetic sculpture. CAOS founder Xstine Cook worked with native artists and elders, metal wizard Jeff De Boer, bike experts, and inmates from Drumheller Institution, who created her.
We acknowledge the teachings and words of Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Maiden Bundle, and thank him for sharing Lakota stories with us.
About 2000 years ago, the Lakota people of the great plains were going through a time of starvation. A holy woman came to them, bringing a bundle with seven sacred teachings.
These teachings became the foundation of Lakota spiritual practice. The holy woman told the Lakota she would return in a time of great need, as a white buffalo.
White buffalo have been born every year since 1994.
SPIRIT OF WHITE BUFFALO in CULTURE CAMPS
Spirit of White Buffalo travels Turtle Island with a group of professional artists from many backgrounds and walks of life, sharing art practices from around the world with children, youth, and interested adults. While sharing experiences and skills, the people of Spirit of White Buffalo grow by learning about the traditions and cultures of the communities they visit.
“My people will sleep for one hundred years, when they awake it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.” —Louis Riel